The Charlotte region has strong population gains. Which areas grew and which shrank?
When the U.S. Census Bureau released population counts last month it showed what most people expected – robust growth in and around Mecklenburg County.
Mecklenburg’s population, which tops 1.1 million, grew by 21% from 2010-20. York and Lancaster counties in South Carolina grew by 25% and Cabarrus County by 27%, the highest rate increase in the region.
More than 85% of the 660 census tracts in the region saw an increase in population, according to an Observer analysis.
But that growth wasn’t consistent.
Rural areas that were farthest away from Charlotte often saw modest growth or a population decrease.
Other findings include:
▪ Mecklenburg and the eight surrounding counties are now home to 2.6 million people, up from 2.2 million in 2010.
▪ Neighborhoods around uptown saw some of the largest growth. A slice of uptown that dips into South End had a population increase of 723% after 2,400 people moved to the area.
▪ Census tracts just across the border of South Carolina and Cabarrus County also saw huge growth. One neighborhood near US 521 and Waxhaw Highway in Lancaster County had its population grow by more than 1,000% — the most of any census tract in the region.
▪ About a quarter of the neighborhoods that lost population were in Mecklenburg. Many of the rest were in the outer reaches of surrounding counties – in western Gaston, Lincoln or Catawba county, for instance, or southern Lancaster County.
